Most coaches would be happy about watching their team post an 11-point win in a tournament semifinal. Most coaches aren't Colorado State's Larry Eustachy.
"I didn't enjoy coaching this game," said Eustachy, who is trying to win his first Great Alaska Shootout in three tries as a head coach.
Eustachy's Rams used a hot-shooting first half to build a big lead Friday night, then held on in the second half for a 75-64 win over Pacific at the Alaska Airlines Center.
But Eustachy's team was outscored 38-32 in the second half by the Tigers, who got a game-high 26 points from Dulani Robinson off the bench and another 14 from reserve guard Alec Kobre to keep things close.
Eustachy explained that his team wasn't physical enough in the second half and failed to put the Tigers away.
"We're into perfection," he said. "We may never accomplish it but that's what we are."
J.J. Avila had 16 points and six rebounds to lead the Rams, who also got 14 from Daniel Bejarano, 13 from Gian Clavell and Stanton Kidd and 11 from Joe De Ciman. John Gillon also had eight points and five assists off the bench for CSU, which committed just seven turnovers.
Colorado State came out smoking behind the hot shooting of Bejarano and Kidd, who combined for all 16 points as the undefeated Rams raced to a 16-3 lead six minutes into the game.
"Colorado State got out to a great start," said Pacific coach Ron Verlin.
Verlin said his Tigers simply couldn't recover from the big deficit.
"We weren't really able to cut into that lead," he said.
The Rams continued to charge through the first half, pushing their lead to 24-8 behind six straight points from De Ciman and a breakaway lay-up by Clavell that forced Verlin to use his second timeout in the first 10 minutes of the game.
Colorado State led by as many as 18 points in the first before Pacific finally started to knock down shots, keeping things even the rest of the way and trailing 43-28 at the half.
The Tigers (3-3) were lucky to be that close. Colorado State (5-0) shot 68 percent from the floor in the first (including 6-of-11 shooting from behind the 3-point arc) while holding Pacific to 33 percent. Kidd led a balanced CSU scoring attack with 11 points in the first half, Clavell had nine, Bejarano and Avila had seven each and De Ciman added six.
Robinson almost single-handedly kept Pacific in the game, knocking down three 3-pointers in the first half to lead all scorers with 13 points at the break. He finished with seven treys for the Rams, who went 13 of 26 from 3-point range.
"I feel my coaching staff has faith in me to make shots like that," Robinson said.
Pacific opened the tournament with a 71-62 win over UAA on Wednesday, the same night the Rams advanced with a 76-61 win over Missouri State.
Pacific came out on fire in the second, getting a pair of deep threes from Robinson and another from Ray Bowles as the Tigers used an 12-2 run out of the locker room to cut the lead to 45-38 midway through the second half.
Verlin said he was proud of the way his squad battled.
"I liked the way we competed and got after it, I just didn't like how we dug ourselves a hole," he said.
As hot as Pacific was to start the second, Colorado State was equally as cold. The Rams missed 10 of their first 11 shots in the second half and committed several sloppy turnovers to allow Pacific to claw their way back into the game.
"I feel like we took a step backwards in the second half," Eustachy said.
The Rams were able to make just enough free throws down the stretch to keep Pacific at arm's length as the Tigers were never able to mount a meaningful challenge down the stretch. Still, Eustachy said his team -- which missed 14 free throws -- must shoot much better from the line.
Eustachy also said his team wasn't adequately prepared for Pacific's physical, determined style of play, and took the blame himself.
"They didn't get a good idea of just how hard [Pacific] plays," he said.
Colorado State will play UC Santa Barbara in Saturday night's 7:30 p.m. championship game, while Pacific will face Mercer on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. in the 3rd/5th place game. UCSB defeated Mercer 65-60 in overtime Friday night.
In Friday's consolation round games, Washington State defeated Rice 76-74 while host UAA fell 55-51 to Missouri State. On Saturday, UAA will play Rice at noon in the 7th/8th place game and Washington State will face Missouri State at 2 p.m. in the 4th/6th place game at the Alaska Airlines Center.
Eustachy said he'll only be able to turn his frown upside down if the Rams can return to Fort Collins with the gold pan given to the Shootout champions.
"We came here to win a tournament and I think we'd all be disappointed if we didn't with this tournament," he said.
Contact reporter Matt Tunseth at 257-4335 or mtunseth@alaskadispatch.com
COLORADO STATE 75, PACIFIC 64
PACIFIC (64) – Thompson 1-2 2-3 4, Taylor 0-2 0-0 0, Eleraky 3-8 2-4 8, Wallace 3-11 2-6 8, Bowles 1-1 0-0 3, Kobre 4-10 2-2 14, Robinson 9-15 1-2 26, Ursery 0-2 0-0 0, Lampkin 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 21-53 9-17 64.
COLORADO STATE (75) – Kidd 4-7 4-4 13, Avila 6-10 4-14 16, Bejarano 6-13 1-2 14, De Ciman 3-7 3-3 11, Clavell 3-5 5-8 13, Gillon 2-4 2-2 8. Totals 24=46 19-33 75.
Pacific 26 38 -- 64
CSU 43 32 -- 75
3-point goals – Pacific 13-26 (Taylor 0-2, Wallace 1-3, Bowles 1-1, Kobre 4-8, Robinson 7-10, Ursery 0-2); CSU 8-18 (Kidd 1-2, Bejarano 1-4, De Ciman 2-4, Clavell 2-4, Gillon 2-4). Rebounds – Pacific 29 (Wallace 6); CSU 33 (Avila 6, De Ciman 6). Total fouls – Pacific 26; CSU 18. Fouled out – none. Technical fouls – Wallace, Bejarano. Assists – Pacific 12 (Wallace 4); CSU 15 (Gillon 5). Turnovers – Pacific 12 (Wallace 4); CSU 7 (Calvell 3). Blocks – Pacific 2 (Eleraky, Lampkin); CSU 4 (Bejarano 2). Steals – Pacific 3 (Thompson, Bowles, Kobre); CSU 5 (Clavell 4). Attendance – 2,903. Officials – Holland, Rukasin, Lujan.